T

he 2012 Djarum Indonesia Open Osim BWF World Superseries Permier badminton tournament returns to Jakarta next week without defending champion Lee Chong Wei and Chinese world number two Lin Dan.

Organizers said that the Malaysian world No. 1 would be absent due to his ankle injury, while, Lin, who never registered for the 2012 Indonesia Open, reportedly would focus on preparations for the London Olympic Games.

The absence of top world shuttlers gives a bigger chance for Indonesian men’s singles world No. 9 Simon Santoso and world No. 12 Taufik Hidayat to grab the super-series title.

“We really hope Simon and Taufik, who are at their fittest, will win the [Open’s] gold medals,” PBSI chief Djoko Santoso said.

Despite losing two big attractions for the event, organizers have raised the total prize money to US$650,000 from $600,000 in last year’s Indonesian Open.

“It is always a pleasure to organize the event, especially with a larger amount of prize money — a total of $650,000 … The Indonesia Open is the second-biggest badminton tournament in the world after the [$1 million] Korea Open,” Djarum official Yan Haryadi said.

Indonesian favorite mixed pair Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir are also in a title hunt to preserve their winning streak.

The world No. 3 mixed pair opened the year with flawless performances that saw them bring home the All England title on March 11 and the 2012 Swiss Grand Prix Gold a week later.

The streak is reason enough for the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI) to give the pair a winning target, following its humiliating rout at the Thomas and Uber Cup championships.

“We’ve been training on a daily basis as usual. Of course, we’d love to get the title, especially given that we’re the hosts,” Liliyana told reporters at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

“Last year, we only managed to reach the runner-up spot. Now, we want to be the champions,” Liliyana, who won silver medal in the Beijing Olympics in mixed doubles, said.

Tontowi said that high expectation had boosted his morale, which was already high following victories in the All England and Swiss Open. “In the last two events, we were unbeatable. We’d like to continue such achievements.”

On the higher potential payday, national training director Christian Hadinata encouraged the 60 or so Indonesian athletes participating in the Open to do their best.

“It is a huge amount of money. It will be unfortunate to let the prize be taken away by the guests,” said the two-time All England winner in men’s doubles with Ade Chandra.

Winners in the singles division will pocket $48,750 each, while champions in the doubles will earn $51,350 per pair in prize money.

The Indonesia Open will run from June 12 to 17 at Tennis Indoor Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Tickets are available on www.blibli.com.